The Royal School of Needlework is home to more than 10,000 unique and priceless Collection and Archive pieces.  For the first time, the RSN is launching its Collections on a new website, revealing the first 100 items.

The first one hundred pieces give a tantalising glimpse of the breadth and depth of the RSN’s exciting treasure trove. These include textiles from the 7th to the 21st centuries, spanning from Guatemala, to Egypt, to the UK and everywhere in between as well as documents tied to the history of the RSN and its more than 150 years of embroidery design and production.

Curator at the Royal School of Needlework, Dr Isabella Rosner said:

“It is very rare for a textile collection to be made available to the public online, so we are delighted to be able to share some of our treasures. We hope that visitors to the Collections website are surprised by how many centuries and continents our objects span. This is just a first step and we will be adding an exciting variety of 2D and 3D pieces which span several hundred years. We look forward to building the platform to reveal more of the RSN’s amazing Collection and Archive with the world.”

The new Collections website features comprehensive catalogue entries, including high-definition images for each object with the option to view stitches up close, maker’s names, dates, places, stitches, motifs, techniques and extensive descriptions. Visitors can also find out more about the techniques and stitches featured via handy links to RSN Stitch Bank. RSN Stitch Bank is an incredible educational directory of stitches and now includes over 400 stitches.

The new Collections website can be accessed free of charge, anywhere in the world, at any time. Visit collections.royal-needlework.org.uk